Lawyers to judge: Allow Arkansas gay marriages to resumeLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Lawyers for gay couples challenging Arkansas' voter-approved same-sex marriage ban told a federal judge Wednesday she should allow such nuptials to resume in the state. Citing recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions not to delay similar cases from other states, the Arkansas lawyers told Judge Kristine Baker that couples are suffering continuing harm by not being allowed to marry. They said that after a ruling against anti-gay-ma...

House panel supports disbanding lottery commissionLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers are ready to scratch the lottery commission from the list of state decision makers. A bill to shift responsibility for Arkansas' struggling lottery from the independent nine-member commission to a governor appointee cleared a committee Wednesday. No member of the House Rules Committee voted against the measure and no one spoke against it. If the bill becomes law, the state Department of Finance and Adminis...

Hutchinson outlines $33M plan to ease prison overcrowdingLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Wednesday proposed tapping more than $33 million in state reserve funds to ease a backlog of state inmates at county jails by opening new prison space, hiring additional parole officers and expanding alternative sentencing programs. The Republican governor said the plan would open 790 new beds, including 288 at a county jail Arkansas would contract with in neighboring Texas, for the more than ...

House endorses African-style hair braiding billLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas House members have supported a bill to exempt African-style hair braiders from the state's cosmetology laws and end a federal court lawsuit against the state. Lawmakers voted 86-3 on Wednesday in support of the change. People who braid and weave hair are currently held to the same standards as those who cut or process it with chemicals. Braiders say required cosmetology courses don't cover their craft and can cost u...

Proposal to end life without parole for juveniles tabledLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A proposal to end life without parole sentences for juveniles stalled before a legislative panel on Tuesday after facing heavy opposition from the state's prosecutors. The House Judiciary Committee tabled the proposal to amend Arkansas' sentencing laws to eliminate life without parole sentences for offenders who were younger than 18 when they committed their crimes. The legislation would apply retroactively to dozens of pris...

House supports shielding utility customer recordsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas House members have given final approval to a measure to provide municipal power companies greater exemptions from public records requests. Lawmakers voted 90-0 Tuesday to protect cities from certain requests made under the state Freedom of Information Act. Any member of the public can currently request a customer's usage or personal information. Details about a power company's infrastructure are also open record. Pr...

Lawmaker calls for moving up Arkansas presidential primaryLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas lawmaker is proposing moving the state's presidential primary from May to March as part of an effort to create a regional nominating contest among several Southern states. Republican Sen. Gary Stubblefield of Branch filed legislation Tuesday that would move the state's presidential primary in 2016 from May 17 to March 1. Several states have proposed moving their nominating contests to that day and create what the...

House rejects school district formation billLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A proposal to relax restrictions on creating new Arkansas school districts narrowly failed in the House. Lawmakers voted 49-25 on Tuesday to reject a proposal to lower the amount of students an upstart district needs to splinter from an existing one. The measure fell two votes shy of being approved. Republican Rep. Mark Lowery of Maumelle wants to lessen the requirement to 2,500 students. He said the move would allow Maumell...

Couples ask Arkansas court to allow gay marriages to resumeLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Couples challenging Arkansas' gay marriage ban asked the state's highest court on Tuesday to lift its stay in their lawsuit and allow clerks to resume issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Attorneys for the couples called on justices to set aside their stay of Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza's May ruling striking down a 2004 constitutional amendment and earlier state law defining marriage as between a man ...

State's top lawyer applauds immigration rulingLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge is praising a ruling by a Texas judge that temporarily blocks President Barack Obama's executive action on immigration. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said in a statement Tuesday will reign in what she said is a president who is attempting to bypass Congress. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen's decision late Monday puts on hold Obama's orders that could spare from deportation as man...

House panel OKs rollback on fluoride requirementLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas House committee on Tuesday endorsed a proposal to let water suppliers opt out of a statewide fluoridation requirement, siding with the bill sponsor who said such decisions should be made on the local level. The House Committee on Public Health, Welfare and Labor voted 11-5 on Tuesday to support the move despite pushback from the state Department of Health and the Arkansas Children's Hospital. Opponents told lawma...

Same-sex couples sue state for recognitionLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An attorney representing same-sex couples in Arkansas says her clients who received marriage licenses are "stuck in limbo" while state and federal courts consider whether gay marriage should be legal in the state. Cheryl Maples on Friday filed a civil complaint in Pulaski County Circuit Court against Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, Gov. Asa Hutchinson and the director of the state Department of Finance and Administration. ...

House supports religion, anti-discrimination billsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas is set to become only the second state to ban cities and counties from locally expanding anti-discrimination laws under a bill approved by lawmakers on Friday. Opponents say the bill sanctions discrimination against gays and lesbians because it blocks municipalities from adopting ordinances that go beyond state's law, which doesn't protect people from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Re...

House would require teaching of cursive writingLITTLE ROCK (AP) — All Arkansas public schools would have to teach cursive writing beginning this fall under a proposal endorsed by the House Thursday over the objection of some lawmakers who said it is no longer needed to be successful in a technology-dominated world. If the measure passes the Senate and is signed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas would join a handful of states that have forced elementary students to learn the swirling, flowin...

House panel endorses hair braiding billLITTLE ROCK (AP) — African-style hair braiders could practice without a cosmetology license in Arkansas under legislation that was unanimously endorsed Thursday by a state House committee. The legislation stems from a federal lawsuit that accuses the state of unfairly singling out braiders, who say required courses for cosmetology licenses in in Arkansas don't cover their craft and can cost up to $20,000. They currently face fines if they prac...

House panel OKs bill on arming teachers, staffLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A proposal to allow school districts to arm teachers, administrators and staff as guards is heading to the Arkansas House for a vote. The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced a Senate-backed bill to abolish the Arkansas Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies and put its duties under the State Police. The bill is in response to the board's 2013 decision to allow 13 districts to continue for two...

Senate votes to ban telemedicine abortionsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Senate voted Thursday to require physicians be present when the abortion pill is given, a move to further restrict the procedure in a state that approved a pair of the strictest bans in the country two years ago. The Senate approved by a 29-4 vote legislation which would bar the use of telemedicine such as videoconferencing to administer abortion-inducing medication. The proposal heads to the House, which has al...

Proposals would reinstate Arkansas' voter ID requirementLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas Constitution would be amended to require voters to show photo identification before casting a ballot under separate proposals lawmakers filed Wednesday in response to the state's highest court striking down a 2013 voter ID law. The measures aimed at reinstating the voter ID law the state Supreme Court struck down in October were among about 40 constitutional amendments lawmakers have proposed putting on the 2016...

House panel OKs anti-discrimination expansion banLITTLE ROCK (AP) — An Arkansas municipality's effort to protect its gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender residents from discrimination would be nullified under a bill presented by the town's state representative on Wednesday. The House Local Affairs Committee voted 12-6 in favor of the measure, which would bar local governments from creating ordinances that prohibit discrimination on a basis not contained in state law. The move would block e...

Prosecutors say NLR man defrauded Arkansas food programNORTH LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Federal prosecutors said a North Little Rock man defrauded a food program set up to provide meals to poor children. An indictment unsealed Wednesday said Christopher Nichols, 24, received $333,136 from the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It stated Nichols promised to feed children from low-income families at two addresses in North Little Rock, but that one address was actually an auto-...